The Top 13 self-defeating practices on LinkedIn

If you’re on LinkedIn, and even if you have an impressive number of connections, you might be making critical mistakes that are robbing you of the ability to make those connections work for you.

The Business2Community blog lists its Top 10 Self-Defeating LinkedIn Practices, such as a boring or outdated profile, using the site to spit out nothing but free commercials, or asking vendors for recommendations.

Here are three more of my favorite self-defeating practices:

1. Failing to use Advanced Search.

This is where the sales leads and the gold are buried. Wayne Breitbarth, a LinkedIn expert, demonstrates how to use Advanced Search to find CEOs:

2. Failing to optimize your profile for the search engines.

Don’t use the generic “My Company” link in your profile to link to your website. Edit it and replace “My Company” with keywords that will give you more Google juice. For example, on my own LinkedIn profile, rather than using “My Company,” I use the phrase “PR and Social Media Tips” to link to my website.

3. Failing to use LinkedIn to pull more people to your Twitter profile or Facebook Page.

About Joan Stewart

Publicity expert Joan Stewart, a PR mentor aka The Publicity Hound, works with small business owners who need free publicity to promote their expertise. She shows you how to establish your credibility, enhance your reputation, position yourself as an expert, and sell more products and services. To receive her free DIY publicity tips twice a week, subscribe here. See all the ways you can work with Joan. Or contact her and ask a burning question about PR, self-promotion or social media.